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Swimmer is racing to beat cancer

WHEN Eric Shanteau stands on the blocks for the 200m breaststroke in Beijing next month, the American swimmer will be suffering from a handicap that none of his rivals has to confront. He has testicular cancer.

The 25-year-old from Atlanta has delayed surgery, against medical advice, so that he can fulfil his lifetime ambition of competing in the Olympics. He qualified for the Games by surprisingly finishing second in the US Trials, which ended last weekend in Omaha, just days after being diagnosed with the condition.

Now Shanteau will go to China, hoping to follow the example of Lance Armstrong, seven times winner of the Tour de France, jockey Bob Champion, who was first in the 1981 Grand National, and Oxford Boat Race winner Dan Perkins, all of whom achieved sporting triumphs after recovering from cancer.

However, none of them competed at the top level immediately before undergoing an operation